A friendly reader told us about another genealogy app for the iPhone called Traces, which searches the databases at the FamilySearch beta site. beta.familysearch.org. The reader (who’s not affiliated with the product other than using it) recommends it as “far and away the best iPhone app ... I've found to facilitate actual genealogy research and database searching.” See a list of iPhone/iTouch genealogy apps on the MobileGenealogy.com website.

The National Archives is holding a day-long symposium called The Civil War: Fresh Perspectives on Saturday, Nov. 20, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m, at its Washington, DC headquarters. It’ll feature panel discussions related to themes from the archives’ special exhibit, Discovering the Civil War. Registration is required, along with a fee of $50. Click here to learn more and register.

UK family history subscription website Findmypast.co.uk and FamilySearch are beginning a project to digitize the Greater Manchester County Record Office’s cemetery registers and institutional records (from gaols, schools and workhouses), which date as far back as the 16th century. When the project is complete, you’ll be able to search indexes free at FamilySearch. The indexed information will link to the records at FindMyPast.co.uk, where you’ll be able to view the record images for a fee.

There’s more for those with UK roots: Old-maps.co.uk has added 60 more years of town plans and other maps to its collection, which now covers 1850 to 1996. In addition, new spy maps produced by the Russian military from 1950 to 1997 cover 16,000 sq km of the UK, including 103 major towns and cities. You can search and browse maps for free and purchase printed or downloadable PDF versions.

So how can you win a calendar?? Just click Comments at the end of this post and add a comment answering this question:

What’s one thing on your genealogy to-do list for 2011?

At 10 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday morning, Oct. 12, we’ll draw three winners—one for each calendar—from the folks who comment. We’ll announce the winners’ names in a post on Tuesday, so you’ll need to visit the Genealogy Insider blog Tuesday to see if it’s you!

This week, FamilySearch published its first digital Chinese collection, along with additional digital image collections from Belgium, Germany, Guatemala, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines and Puerto Rico.

Note that the indexes are still being created for these records, meaning you can’t yet search them by typing in a name. Instead, you view them as you would microfilm, by browsing the record images for the place and/or time period when you think your ancestor’s record was created.

To find the database you want to browse, first scroll down and click the region under Browse by Location. For German collections, for example, click Europe.Then you can use the Place filters on the left to home in on the place you need.

If you clicked the Germany filter, you’ll see seven German databases. The one with the “Browse images” link is the just-added database.

FamilySearch also added 20 million more records to the Civil War, Revolutionary War, and the 1851 England and Wales census collections. The Civil War collection lets you search an index, and links you to the subscription website Footnote to view the record. You’ll need a subscription to see it. The 1851 English and Welsh census collection employs a similar arrangement with subscription site FindMyPast.co.uk.

As a side note, if you click the Getting Started link from the FamilySearch Beta home page, you’ll see links to some pretty family trees you can download, then print and fill out.

If Family History Month has you thinking about expanding your own genealogy knowledge, it's a great time to sign up for a Family Tree University course. The spooky October session begins Monday the 11th, and we've got three new courses for you—one of them is free! Read on for the whole course catalog.

Take some time to explore the sites for the states where your ancestors lived—you might find digitized documents, indexes to records, historical articles, finding aids, catalogs of holdings and more. I’ve already mined the Ohio Historical Society website for its death certificates index and the catalog of resources available at the state archives; and the Texas State Library and Archives Commission site is where I learned how to get records of Texas state penitentiary inmates (and thus confirm a family story).

Magazine editors will select a winner based on the strength of the application to be our Family Tree Firsts Blogger. Then, over six months, the blogger will have access to our how-to genealogy products, classes and webinars, and products, services and surprises from our partners. The blogger will blog twice a week to tell the world about his/her genealogical experiences and finds, and he/she will even appear in a future issue of Family Tree Magazine.

We’re super excited about seeing the world of genealogy through the eyes of a newbie! If you’re new to genealogy and you love to write, click here to apply. Or if you know someone who fits the bill, send him or her to this post. The deadline is Oct. 31.

The UK family history subscription and pay-per-view site Findmypast.co.uk has launched a collection of transcribed Devon parish records in association with the Devon Family History Society. The records include baptisms from 1813 to 1839, marriages from 1754 to 1837, and burials for 1813 to 1837.

In a late addition to today's roundup, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society announced today that all issues of the society's NYG&B Record (563 issues dating back to 1870) are accessible to society members on the society's website. You can search every word of the issues, or use a new surname search engine.

Tomorrow starts an exciting month around here—Family History Month! In 2001, Congress first passed a resolution, introduced by Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, who wrote, "By searching for our roots, we come closer together as a human family.”

Similar legislation has passed in several years since. To my knowledge, there wasn’t an official declaration this year, but family history organizations continue to observe Family History Month in October.

We’ve also got a couple more surprises up our sleeves—stay tuned right here!

Family History Month often brings great opportunities to improve your genealogy skills, find out about new resources and meet others who share your passion for the past! Check program schedules for your local library and genealogical society to see what’s going on near you.

Here are some of the genealogy classes and other special events we’ve heard about (listed by state; click the link for more information on the event).

If your group is holding a special Family History Month event, please click Comments at the end of this post to share the news. Be sure to include a link where people can learn more.

Go ahead and hold your own party, too. Give yourself a whole Saturday at the library or Family History Center, ask a relative your burning family history questions, bake Grandma's famous cookie recipe, jot down a family story, or tell your state representative how much you appreciate your public library's genealogy resources.

After learning a few years back that her Railey ancestor owned a farm in Logan County, Ky., our own Allison Stacy had a “why not?” moment and checked the HeritageQuest Online collection of digital books (accessible through many public libraries).

She was flabbergasted to learn that in the early 1900s, an unknown-to-her descendant, William Edward Railey, had written two books with information about the clan: History of Woodford County and Sketches of Randolphs and Their Connection. The second one traces the Railey line from Colonial Virginia to Allison’s grandmother’s older brother.

Can't find a book about your family? No luck locating a certain title online? Registrants will have the opportunity to submit family information, and Nancy will demonstrate search techniques using several submissions from webinar attendees.

Registered attendees also receive access to the webinar recording to view again, a PDF of the presentation slides for future reference, as well as bonus handouts.